eReaders Safe For The Family

eBooks, eBooks, eBooks.  They're everywhere, and I love them!  And if you haven't heard I am launching an eBook next week.  I'll be doing a mini-series on eBooks this week for that reason : )  Starting off today I'd like to talk about parental controls on eReaders, rather the lack thereof.  But I'm so happy that Kindle has finally listened and given some sort of Parental Controls on their Kindle Fire.  (Yay! I can finally buy one!)

But let me say this, you don't need an eReader to read eBooks.  You can download books right to your computer from Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and many different websites as well.  But If you're looking for a safe eReader I have two recommendations.  (These are affiliate links)

I got a Sony Reader, the Christmas before last and I absolutely love it.  I download books from the Sony store, and also I've uploaded many PDF's I've bought from other bloggers. I've even taught from my eReader, and my husband has preached from it as well.

The reason why we bought this Sony was it didn't have wireless. (And did you notice you can get it for only $35 from Amazon?!) There is nothing on the ereader that I didn't put there.  I'll never have to worry about giving my eReader to my kids because there is no way they can stumble across anything.  Oh and they can't  buy anything by mistake either.

I'm not a huge fan (if you can't tell) of unrestricted internet access. 94% of all teenagers today will view p**n before the age of 18, this includes teens in Christian homes. And the reason is eReaders, cell phones, game systems, tablets, iPods all have the ability to pick up a wireless signal.  And don't think just because you don't have wireless you're safe, all it takes is leaching off neighbors or a trip to McDonald's to access reprehensible material.

If you wanted something with internet that you could have SOLID parental controls on you were pretty much limited to iPads, but Kindle finally listened to all the parental complaints they were getting and they made a way to turn the wireless OFF and password protect turning it on with their new Kindle Fire.  Which means I can finally get a Kindle!  I'm not sure when, it might have to wait until next Christmas but I'll be getting one : ) (I've been stock piling free Kindle books in my Amazon account for awhile now).  Don't get me wrong I love my Sony, but Amazon's Kindles do have some extra bells and whistles : )

Even if the only internet an eReader has is to the "eStore" I'm still not a fan.  Have you seen some of the covers out there?!  There is enough evil in this world without inviting it into my house.  Maybe I'm being a little too prudent, but quite frankly I don't think this is an area where I can be too overprotective.

What do you think?  Are you excited that you can "lock down" a Kindle.  Have you been avoiding an eReader for this reason?
 



Posts in This Series

• Family Safe eReaders
• Formatting for Dummies Part I: Why I'm Mad at Smashwords
• Formatting for Dummies Part II: Tips I've Learned
• My Book Launch
• Resources and Freebies (And eBook Linkup)

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